Penguins of Madagascar: Suspicion and Accusation
by Melucine
Summary: Marlene's sister comes to visit. Skipper goes psycho...etc
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, this is my first story on Fan Fiction. Please leave comments!!

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At first, the soft knocking on Marlene's door was drowned out by her loud snoring. It was when the noise became frantic pounding that she finally awoke from her deep sleep. Mumbling under her breath, she tumbled off her bed and slumped to the ground_. It's probably those pesky penguins again_, she thought. _At least this time they had the courtesy to knock_.

"Hellooooo? Is anyone there?" A high-pitched feminine voice came from behind Marlene's door. Immediately Marlene perked up, curious about who it could be. She hadn't heard this voice before. Perhaps it was Darla the baboon…but what had happened to her Southern accent? It couldn't be Lulu; the voice didn't have a British accent to it, either. Maybe it was Kitka the falcon? No, this voice was softer; purer. Should Marlene answer it?

"I know you're there," the voice came again, a hint of humor in it. "Don't make me come in." The sentence ended with a huff of laughter.

_Wait_, Marlene thought. _I know that voice_. Eyes sparkling with excitement and hopes, she rushed toward the door, grasped the handle, and whipped it open. Before her eyes stood a slim, well-groomed Asian otter. The otter's fur pattern was almost exactly like Marlene's, except for a white star marking under her ice blue eyes. A golden chain hung around her neck; dangling from it was a shiny orange stone.

"Darlene!" Marlene shouted happily, throwing her arms around her sister, who giggled with pleasure.

"It's nice to see you again," Darlene said, slipping from Marlene's grip.

"How long are you visiting for?" Marlene asked.

Darlene shrugged. "I dunno. A couple days?"

Marlene shifted her weight to one side, thinking of what fun activity to do with her sister first. When the idea came to her head, she nearly leaped with excitement.

"Ooh, I have to introduce you to my friends!" She squealed, taking Darlene's paw and racing to the penguins' exhibit.

~*~*~*~

"I don't see any penguins," Darlene said as the two sisters stood on the tiny rock island in the middle of the penguin exhibit. Ignoring her sister's comment, Marlene kicked the silver fish dish to the side, and signaled for her to hop down.

"Down there?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

Darlene hesitated a moment, slowly edging toward the dark hole. She bent over to peer inside, but could see nothing, and only heard the soft murmurs of the penguins' voices. Slowly, she prepared to jump, edging forward a little more. But before she could turn back and ask Marlene to go first, she lost her balance. She stuck out her arms, waving them around in an attempt to gain her balance back, but as she swayed to her left, she ended up tumbling in.

Marlene slapped a paw to her forehead in embarrassment for her sister, then jumped in after her.

Darlene had landed with a thud, but had sprung back up on her feet as soon as she heard Marlene about to pounce on top of her. She turned to face the astonished penguins.

"There's…two of them?" Private questioned, turning to his leader for an answer.

"Hey guys!" Came Marlene's shrill voice as she greeted her flightless friends. She snorted with laughter. "Okay, guess which relative of mine is visiting for the next couple of days!"

All eyes darted to Darlene, who stood awkwardly in the corner. Unsure of what to do, Darlene gathered all her courage and took a step forward.

"I'm Darlene," she began. "Marlene's sister."

Skipper extended a flipper and introduced himself. "I'm Skipper, leader of this hard-core group."

Feeling more confident, Darlene shook his flipper with a smile. She then turned to a taller, intelligent looking penguin.

"And you are?" She asked. This penguin seemed nice, but there was a hint of shyness Darlene noticed in him.

"Kowalski," he said, without extending a flipper. Darlene nodded, looking deeper into his sapphire-colored eyes and trying to figure out his actual personality. Before she could open her mouth to speak again, Marlene turned her towards and odd looking penguin with a Mohawk and a crack on his beak.

"Oh dear, how did you get that crack?" Darlene asked, leaning in to get a closer look.

The unsocial penguin pulled away. Once he could see the confusion in Darlene's eyes, he twitched and muttered, "Rico."

Darlene stopped herself from throwing more questions at the confused bird and turned to the smallest penguin of the group.

"Oh, hello there!" Darlene said, kneeling down so she could look him in the eyes. "How cute."

Hearing Skipper's chuckle from behind her, Darlene stood back up.

"Private may be cute and cuddly," Skipper began. "But he can go commando on you in less than a heartbeat."

Darlene let out a huff of laughter and turned to face Skipper. Her sister was standing next to him.

"Darlene, why don't you tell us about yourself?" Skipper asked.

Darlene's eyes glimmered with excitement. "Alright, let's see…like, my interests?"

Skipper nodded.

Darlene thought a moment. "Well, I enjoy going on adventures."

"What zoo are you from, Darlene?" Private asked.

"I used to live in one of California's aquariums with Marlene, but they transferred me to the wild, and Marlene here."

Skipper nodded, taking her information in.

"Why don't you guys tell me about yourselves?" Darlene asked, her eyes darting toward Kowalski.

"Curious about Kowalski, eh?" Skipper observed. Darlene stopped herself from blushing, but instead shifted her weight to one side and looked away.

Skipper let out another chuckle. "I'm sure he'll show you some of this inventions." he looked towards Kowalski. "Won't you, Kowalski?"

So he's the science type of guy? Wait, what type of inventions? Darlene glanced over at him. The taller penguin paused a moment, thinking this over. Darlene could sense he felt cornered.

"Inventions? How cool," Darlene began. "But you really don't have to show me anything."

Marlene bounded over to her sister, obviously hiding another surprise.

"C'mon, you haven't met --"

Her sister was cut off by a loud explosion that rattled the underground base. Confusion swept over the two of them.

"Ringtail…" Skipper muttered angrily, storming over to the ladder.

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That's all for chapter one. Hopefully by the time I finish chapter two I'll have figured out how to put up another chapter..


	2. Chapter 2

Note: Dustie and Miyuki are some of my OCs! And, uhm, enjoy!!

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"Ringtail?" questioned Darlene. "Who's Ringtail?"

"The most annoying neighbor in the world!" Skipper complained, heaving himself up the ladder. Darlene watched as the rest of his team followed, then tagged along too. She scampered up the rusty ladder, her sister close behind.

After dragging herself out of the base, Darlene stood beside Skipper, glancing around the zoo. Across from the penguins' exhibit, she could see a tall lemur standing beside a black and pink box. His fur was stained with black and pink, probably from the explosion. Skipper flipped on his stomach and slid over to the lemurs' exhibit.

~*~*~*~*~

"Ringtail, what absurd thing have you done this time?!" Skipper yelled, glancing at the broken boom box beside the lemur. A thick, pink liquid was dripping from the top of it.

"Oh, it was horrible!" cried the king, falling in his throne dramatically. "I was only trying to shake it to the beat of my boom box," he paused again to sigh, "and it exploded!"

Skipper turned to Kowalski. "Kowalski, inspect the device," he ordered.

The tall penguin bent down to the machine, and after staring at it for a few heartbeats, he stood back up and turned to face Skipper.

"It seems someone has spilled…" Kowalski bent back down to the boom box, dipped a flipper in the pink goop on top of it, and tasted it. "…guava smoothie on this machine."

Surprised, Julian sprung off of his throne to stand beside Mort.

"Mort," he began, his voice full of suspicion. He didn't have to say anything else; Mort knew what was going on.

"I tripped and fell on the boom box!" Mort giggled, darting over to hug Julian's feet. Julian hopped to the side, causing the mouse lemur to slam right into Skipper.

"And apparently you were holding a smoothie at the time," giggled Darlene, watching as Skipper kicked Mort to the side.

Julian paused, confused. He approached Darlene with caution, curiosity in his eyes.

"Marlene, who is your friend?" He asked, glancing from Darlene to her then back to Darlene.

"I'm not only Marlene's friend, but her sister." Darlene smiled.

Julian stood up proudly, trying to make himself taller.

"And I," he began, "am King Julian."

Darlene looked at him for a moment. No way could this excuse of an animal be a king. He seemed so self-centered; an egomaniac. He looked very distracted by everything, and didn't seem very intelligent either(judging by the way he couldn't figure out why his stereo had broken). Skipper didn't seem to like him so much, either. A king? A self-proclaimed king, maybe.

"King? King of what, idiots?" Darlene blurted out, then soon after wished she hadn't. But laughter behind her, from both her sister and the penguins, made the regret wash away.

After several heartbeats of laughter, Marlene approached Darlene. "C'mon," she said, "I'll show you around the zoo some more."

~*~*~*~

After Marlene had introduced her sister to Dustie the ferret, Miyuki the owl, and plenty of the others, the two sisters had come home to play games like old times.

"Remember when we used to have singing contests?" Asked Marlene.

Darlene nodded, smiling. "And the drawing contests," she added. The two were awfully competitive.

"We should do something different this time," Marlene said, rummaging around her room for something they could do.

~*~*~*~

Penguins' Base, 1600 hours

Skipper paced back and forth across the hard stone floor of his underground base, Kowalski and Rico watching him intently. He was frustrated, confused, and most of all, astonished.

"How could she do this to us?" He yelled, turning to Kowalski for options.

"Skipper, I hate to correct you, but," Kowalski began, "you really don't have any proof that Darlene kidnapped Private."

Skipper didn't pay any attention to the taller penguin, and instead went on rambling.

"I knew it! She works for Dr. Blowhole. I could see it in those ice-blue, unforgiving eyes." It was then Skipper realized what Kowalski had been saying.

"Kowalski," he said, his tone suspicious. "did you just say what I think you said?" Without giving his comrade a chance to reply, Skipper kept talking. "You're siding with the enemy!"

Kowalski stared Skipper down. "Only because you're talking nonsense!" he protested.

Skipper became furious. "Why, Kowalski, why? Why have you betrayed your own clan mates?! Your amigos! Your commanding officer."

"I haven't betrayed--"

"Ohh, I see how it is," Skipper said, his voice becoming curious. "You like this new girl, eh?"

Kowalski grumbled. "Skipper, have some common sense here. I --"

"Rico," Skipper cut off Kowalski once more, his tone now serious again. "gather up our spy equipment. It's time to go undercover."

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Please review!! Chapter three will be more action-packed..


	3. Chapter 3

Even though it is short, chapter three is pretty good! Enjoy......

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After a night of games, makeovers, and more, Darlene and Marlene prepared to sleep.

"You sleep here," Marlene said, gesturing towards another stone bed beside her own.

_A stone bed? That might hurt… _Despite her thoughts, Darlene nodded to her sister to thank her and curled up in a ball on her temporary bed.

After chatting up a storm, Marlene finally went to sleep. Darlene could see the soft rise and fall of her sister's chest and knew this was her chance. She snuck out of bed and crept towards the door. Abruptly, a loud, low noise shook the air; Darlene jumped, nearly shrieking. _Oh, that's right, _she thought, _Marlene snores._

But Darlene had more important things to think about…getting outside, in the zoo's peaceful park, where she could silently sleep in the comfort of the outdoors like she always did in her forest home.

Darlene reached out a paw and grabbed the doorknob, cautiously pulling the door open. She jumped again, this time letting out a quiet but terrified yelp, for Skipper was standing right outside, his flippers suspiciously hidden behind his back. He smiled casually, creeping Darlene out.

"Skipper, how…..nice….to see you at, er, two o'clock in the morning." Darlene said sarcastically.

"Oh, Darlene," Skipper chucked, obviously hiding something. "It's nice to see you, too. What are you sneaking out for?"

"None of your business. Why do you want to know?" Darlene growled.

"Have you heard that Private, one of my comrades, has recently been kidnapped, Darlene?"

Darlene gasped. "Oh, that's terrible! I haven't seen him. But, really, Skipper, couldn't this news have waited until morning?"

"No, this is important," Skipper said, his voice growing tense as he took a step forward. "I think you know where Private is."

"Me? How would I know?" Darlene took a step back, startled. "Skipper, you're scaring me.."

As Skipper's flippers shifted behind his back, Darlene's eyes caught a glimpse of something shiny and silver. _A blade! _Darlene could fight him off, right? After all, she was from the forest! She was tough! She was….going to die…

Desperate to spare her life, Darlene panicked. She had only one option, and that was to attack first. Chocking on fear, Darlene thrust herself at the sly penguin, grabbing his flipper before he had the chance to strike. The impact of her attack had caused them both to tumble to the ground; there, they tussled and rolled until Darlene pinned Skipper down. She was about to pry the dagger from Skipper's flipper when Marlene woke up with a start.

"Guys, what's going on?!" she said angrily.

The cunning penguin quietly slipped his dagger in Darlene's paw, and threw her off of him.

"Oh, it was terrible," Skipper lied, his tone as innocent as he could be. "I came over to spread the news about Private, and then Darlene sprung at me with a knife!"

Darlene let go of the dagger; it fell to the stone floor with a clang.

"That's not what happened!" She protested, pointing to Skipper. "That psychopath just came in here and was about to attack me! I would've been killed if I hadn't tackled him!"

Marlene stared at the two of them in bewilderment, then mumbled, "I must be dreaming," and hopped back into her bed.

Skipper stared at Darlene, pure hatred in his eyes. Darlene stared back with confusion; innocence.

"Skipper," she began, her tone pleading. "I haven't taken Private. I swear."

The hard-core penguin grumbled, disbelieving. Darlene, wanting to gain his trust, spoke again.

"What would I want with Private, Skipper?" she asked.

Skipper's eyes flickered with anger. "To take him back to your master, Dr. Blowhole! Don't play dumb with me; I know your tricks."

These zoo animals were crazy! Had they been trapped behind these stone walls for too long? Boldly, Darlene took a step forward.

"Skipper, relax," she told him, wanting only to get him out of her sister's home. She was prepared to spring at any moment in case he dove for the dagger.

Skipper didn't say a word; instead, he waddled towards the door. Darlene kept an eye on him until she was sure he was back in his own habitat, and lay awake on her bed until morning, ready for another attack.

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Please leave comments! Sorry Skipper fans, I just felt like making him go psycho...xP Anyways, what would you like to see in the fourth chapter?


	4. Chapter 4

Well here you go everyone, the final, and crappiest chapter of my story. I guess I was in a rush to finish it, worried that my character was too much like a Mary-Sue. Since my friends thought it'd be more interesting to add in romance, that's what I did. Enjoy..or at least try to.

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Darlene sat in the zoo's park, leaning against the soft bark of a maple tree. The oranges and pinks of the sunrise swirled in front of her; the fluffy clouds that dotted the sky were turned purple against it. All was quiet.

Darlene had been planning to leave the next day, but she wasn't liked here in the zoo, so she changed her mind; she was going to leave today.

She was about to heave herself to her feet when the sound of a twig snapping came from behind her. Startled, she turned around, her eyes darting from side in fear of the psychotic penguin who had attacked her the night before.

But to her surprise, it was the taller penguin that emerged from behind a nearby tree. Relief washed over her…until another thought crossed her mind.

"Skipper didn't send you here, did he?" Darlene asked, half joking.

"No," Kowalski answered.

"Oh. Then what have you come for?"

"Just to apologize for Skipper's…unusual…behavior."

Darlene smiled, though she was still a bit suspicious. "How nice."

An awkward silence stuck the air; Darlene shifted her weight to one side, restless, then spoke.

"I appreciate it, Kowalski. I really do. But, I would like to know, do you believe Skipper?"

Kowalski thought a moment. Darlene noticed he too was shifting with uneasiness. He finally answered, "No." He paused, then continued, "Skipper has no actual proof. Besides," he took another pause, blushing. "I don't think you'd do a thing like that."

Darlene was flattered, but Kowalski almost seemed _too_ nice. Was this a setup? Before another silence could ruin this moment, she spoke.

"R-really?" Her voice was raspy at first, but she cleared her throat, embarrassed. Then, she continued. "Thanks…B-but I'm still wondering, what could've happened to Private?" As she spoke, she sat down, gesturing for Kowalski to sit beside her.

Kowalski waddled over and sat down, thinking as Darlene turned to watch the sunrise.

"I have a theory," he finally announced.

Darlene turned her head to look at him, the bright orange glow of sunrise dazzling her fur and turning her faded blue eyes to a radiant pinkish color. Hope sparkled in them; maybe she could prove Skipper wrong.

"What is it?" Darlene asked after Kowalski had taken over several heartbeats to reply.

Kowalski shook himself out of his trance and looked away, embarrassed.

"I forgot," he mumbled.

Darlene forced herself to smile, elbowing him in a friendly way. "It's fine."

Kowalski smiled, but Darlene sighed, looking away. "Should I talk to Skipper?" she asked, realizing Kowalski might not have known about his leader's attempted murder last night.

"I don't see why not," came Kowalski's reply. He hadn't known.

"Could you come with me?" Darlene asked, springing on her feet and extending an arm to help Kowalski up. He nodded.

~*~*~*~

Kowalski was the first to enter the penguins' base, then Darlene climbed down the rusty ladder, right behind him.

Skipper was busy setting up for a game of chess in dim light. He looked up and got out of his seat.

"Darlene, how nice to see you," he said.

"I need to talk to you about Private," Darlene stated.

"Very well. Kowalski," he said, a smirk on his face. "please step out of the room so Darlene and I can speak in private."

Darlene hesitated, looking back to Kowalski with pleading eyes. She knew he had to obey his leader's commands, and he was up the ladder and out of the base in seconds.

Immediately after Kowalski had left, Darlene turned to Skipper. "What do you want with me?"

Skipper chuckled, but not like the way he had when they had first met. This was a different side of Skipper; one that was sly and suspicious. "Oh, Darlene," he began. "It's all a part of my plan. Private was weak and useless; he only slowed the team down."

Darlene failed to understand. "What do you mean? You're happy he's gone?"

Skipper smiled. "Why wouldn't I be? After all, I was the one who killed him."

Darlene took a step back. "Y-you.." she faltered.

Skipper continued. "You see, after some spying and research, I have come to the conclusion that Kowalski," he chuckled. "has fallen for you."

Darlene looked away.

Skipper's expression grew dark, along with his tone. "But love also slows this team down. And since Kowalski is needed on this team, he can never love you. Which is why, if he believes that you've done a crime, he will loose interest in you."

Darlene fully understood his plan now. Hatred bristled in her fur as she turned to face him. "Kowalski doesn't believe you," she growled. "you're insane!"

Skipper reassured her. "Don't worry. I'm not going to kill you, Darlene. After last night's fight, I've decided that would break Kowalski's heart, and sadness also slows this team down."

Darlene snorted. "Your plan is never going to work. If you refuse to kill me, I can march confidently out of here and report this to Kowalski."

"You think he'll believe you?"

"

Even if he doesn't, I see a flaw in your plan."

Skipper grumbled. "There are no flaws, my dear," he took a step forward. "my plan is foolproof."

Darlene crossed her arms. "I think not. You don't have enough time to do something horrible and blame it on me; I'm leaving today."

Skipper took another step towards her, frustrated. Desperate to save his plan, he threw himself at her.

Darlene was prepared for his attack, and dodged out of the way. But Skipper had grabbed her leg and brought her down -- hard. The two hit the ground with a thud, tussling and rolling.

Suddenly, a tall penguin scampered down from the ladder, distracting Darlene for a moment. She was almost punched by Skipper, a grin on his face.

The tall penguin slid over and kicked Skipper away from Darlene, who recognized him right away.

"Kowalski!" Darlene exclaimed. He didn't need to say anything, for the odd expression on his face told Darlene he had overhead everything. Darlene looked behind his shoulder to see that Skipper had been knocked out; his limp body lay against the hard stone walls.

"Leave," Kowalski said, his tone serious. "Before he wakes up. I'll tell your sister you left. Just please, get as far away from this psycho as possible."

Darlene's eyes clouded with sadness. She threw her arms around Kowalski and embraced him with a hug.

"Good-bye," she said, holding back tears. She understood Kowalski wanted her to be safe and respected that. Then, she was up the ladder and off to her forest home without another word.

Part of her didn't want to leave; her spirit sank like a stone in the sea, tossed away and forgotten forever. But she'd always remember the one who'd believed her and helped her, and would never let go of those memories.

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Ahh! It's so bad......my eyes! Well, review if you haven't been blinded. Thanks.......


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